Shiraz University Teaching English as a Second Language Quarterly 2981-1546 45 3 2026 06 01 Character Values Representation in Iranian High School English Textbooks 71 102 8560 10.22099/tesl.2026.54594.3459 EN Farzane Safarzade Samani English Department, Faculty of Management and Humanities, Chabahar Maritime University, Chabahar, Iran Mansoor Ganji 1. Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran 2. English Department, Faculty of Management and Humanities, Chabahar Maritime University, Chabahar, Iran Ali Beikian English Department, Faculty of Management and Humanities, Chabahar Maritime University, Chabahar, Iran Amir Mohammadian English Department, Faculty of Management and Humanities, Chabahar Maritime University, Chabahar, Iran Journal Article 2025 11 19 <strong>This descriptive study aimed to examine the extent to which character values were present and their distribution in the Iranian high school English textbooks Prospect Series and Vision Series, and to determine whether these character values were violated. Quantitative data were gathered through content analysis of these two English textbook series, focusing on the frequency and distribution of the 18 character values, as defined by the checklist by </strong><strong>Pratiwi et al. (2021)</strong><strong>. The results showed that</strong><strong> </strong><strong>communicative values (e.g., interaction, cooperation, and social engagement) were the most frequently represented (f = 211), reflecting the series’ emphasis on basic language use and classroom interaction at the junior high school level.</strong><strong><em> </em></strong><strong>Values of Democratic (f=9), Honest<em> (</em>f=5),<em> </em>and Environmental caring (f=10)<em> </em></strong><strong>appeared less frequently, suggesting room for more intentional integration. </strong><strong>Character values of being Communicative (f=93), Disciplined (f=103), and Hardworking (f=74) </strong><strong>dominated across the <em>Vision</em> series, while values such as being<em> Honest</em> (f=6), Democratic (f=5), and Social Caring (f=11)<em> </em>were rarely found, indicating a gap in promoting personal initiative and participatory classroom culture. Furthermore, a closer qualitative analysis revealed several instances in which textbook content may unintentionally undermine values such as honesty, tolerance, democracy, peace-loving, creativity, and respect in Prospect Series, and tolerance, peace-loving, creativity, and respect in <em>Vision </em>Series through stereotyping, dichotomous moral framing, or neutral presentation of conflict-related themes. These findings suggested that character education in Iranian EFL textbooks is present but unevenly operationalized. </strong> https://tesl.shirazu.ac.ir/article_8560_b43f6f248f89d5cade0051641bf5c3a3.pdf